Crypto23 July, 20262 min read
Pragmatic Policy Group Study Says U.S. Crypto Industry Adds $55B By 2026
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NCA study forecasts crypto industry to contribute $55 billion to U.S. economy in 2026. Directly employs 34,000 and supports 232,000 jobs economy-wide.
NCA study projects $55B
A U.S.-focused economic study released Wednesday by the Pragmatic Policy Group on behalf of the National Cryptocurrency Association (NCA) estimates that the crypto industry will contribute $55 billion this year to the United States economy through direct, indirect and induced employment. The report says crypto companies directly employ about 34,000 people, while the broader industry supports 232,000 jobs across the U.S., and it highlights particularly large contributions tied to securities and commodity contracts ($9.7 billion) and housing/real estate ($4.8 billion).
The NCA-linked study also frames its impact in workforce terms, describing jobs created or sustained by crypto activity as rippling into spending and production elsewhere in the economy. In the study’s regional breakdown, it says the states employing the most people involved in the industry are Texas, Washington, North Carolina, California and New York, while it calls Colorado a “growing blockchain hub” and describes North Dakota as “becoming an energy-integrated digital infrastructure hub.”
Ripple-backed group and jobs
The NCA behind the study is backed by Ripple Labs, and the report’s framing says the group received $50 million in backing from Ripple and lists Stuart Alderoty, Ripple’s chief legal officer, as the head of the group.
The study’s employment comparisons use U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data, and it says the crypto industry’s direct employment of about 34,000 people would account for a comparatively small share of the 232,000 jobs supported when indirect and induced employment are included.
One outlet also adds that the report projects crypto will contribute $55 billion to U.S. GDP and $31 billion income, while estimating an average annual wage across all supported jobs of $133,000 versus a $64,000 national median.
The same coverage describes the report’s job categories and says software, blockchain and data engineering form the largest direct occupational group with about 10,100 roles, while compliance, finance and business operations account for another 5,450 positions and executives and managers make up about 5,100.
Shutdowns alongside growth
Even as the NCA study projects a $55 billion contribution, the source article says the same period has also seen multiple crypto-linked shutdowns, underscoring that industry scale and project-level viability do not necessarily move in tandem. It cites Entropy, a New York-based startup, which said in January it would shut down after four years of operation, and it also says Dmail, a decentralized email platform based in Singapore, began ceasing operations in May citing expenses on bandwidth, storage and computing.
The coverage further says decentralized autonomous organization governance platform Tally and Balancer Labs shuttered in March, and it links those project-level wind-downs to difficulty with scaling and market conditions. The study’s broader narrative of economic integration is presented alongside these closures, with one outlet describing the NCA’s goal as quantifying crypto’s footprint through direct, indirect and induced effects rather than a live headcount of every role touching crypto.